Special Matching Funds Opportunity

[Suzu]

Perhaps you should open a bird shelter. Feed the birds with cheap pellets.

Then feed the cats with the birds

How would that be a bird shelter?

 

[GlennwaldSnowdenAssanged]

@GlennwaldSnowdenAssanged we use the horse pellet bedding from Tractor Supply as cat litter. It's compressed pine sawdust that keeps odors down and absorbs urine well. The pellets gradually dissolve as they get used up. By the time the box is all sawdust, it has begun to smell bad, and it's time to dump the whole thing. In between changes, we remove the solid wastes. The 40-lb bags are $5 each, and one bag will fill at least a dozen litter boxes. The entire box gets changed about once a week. If you have 4 litter boxes, you probably wouldn't have to change all of them once a week, because the pellets last much longer than any clay litter. You could be spending $5 every 2-3 months instead of $10/month and could use the savings to upgrade their food. Meow Mix is the lowest-rated catfood due to having the most carbs of any brand. Cats don't digest carbs at all, and the protein in MM is by-products dressed up with artificial flavoring. Sure, the cats like it. Most people like junk food, too, but a steady diet of it doesn't make for longevity. Your kitties are able to supplement what you give them with freshly killed prey, but KSH cats are kept indoors. The ferals do get cheaper food (not MM) because our budget is always stretched to the max.

So if MM is no no what is the least expensive approved alternative?

 

[Suzu]

So if MM is no no what is the least expensive approved alternative?

Well first off I don't know where you live, so I don't know what stores might be nearby. Some stores have decent store-brand petfoods at reasonable prices. Aldi's is okay at 37 cents (currently) for 5.5 ounces. Krogers' is decent and I don't know the price anymore because they closed all the local stores. You don't say the size of the containers you buy at $17/48. At that price I'm betting they are in the 2-3 ounce range. The Walmart brand "Special Kitty" would be the next step up from MM, I would say. It (currently) runs 38 cents for the 5.5 ounce cans and 72 cents for the 13-ounce can.

For dry food, choose any that doesn't have corn, soy, wheat or other grains. Read the label, make sure it doesn't have ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT. Protein should be at least 32% and up 40%. We always soak the dry food in an equal amount of water for 10-15 minutes ahead of feeding, otherwise (over the long haul) they develop urinary tract issues and, eventually, kidney failure. If you really want to understand the problem with kibble, read https://catinfo.org/

 

[GlennwaldSnowdenAssanged]

Well first off I don't know where you live, so I don't know what stores might be nearby. Some stores have decent store-brand petfoods at reasonable prices. Aldi's is okay at 37 cents (currently) for 5.5 ounces. Krogers' is decent and I don't know the price anymore because they closed all the local stores. You don't say the size of the containers you buy at $17/48. At that price I'm betting they are in the 2-3 ounce range. The Walmart brand "Special Kitty" would be the next step up from MM, I would say. It (currently) runs 38 cents for the 5.5 ounce cans and 72 cents for the 13-ounce can.

For dry food, choose any that doesn't have corn, soy, wheat or other grains. Read the label, make sure it doesn't have ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT. Protein should be at least 32% and up 40%. We always soak the dry food in an equal amount of water for 10-15 minutes ahead of feeding, otherwise (over the long haul) they develop urinary tract issues and, eventually, kidney failure. If you really want to understand the problem with kibble, read https://catinfo.org/

I was mistaken about the canned cat food. We have been using 9Lives with gravy. They are 5.5 ounce cans and 48 per box. Price without discounts about $20.50 per box = $.0427 per can. Last time we had $3 off. Price used to be $17.99 until recent price hike. Aldi brand here in CT costs $0.45 per can.

 

[Suzu]

I was mistaken about the canned cat food. We have been using 9Lives with gravy. They are 5.5 ounce cans and 48 per box. Price without discounts about $20.50 per box = $.0427 per can. Last time we had $3 off. Price used to be $17.99 until recent price hike. Aldi brand here in CT costs $0.45 per can.

Aldi's is still a step above 9 Lives.

 

[Suzu]

The Facebook Fundraiser has closed. The goal was $1,500. We got to $365. That won't get us very far at all.

I am hoping that a few more people will want to donate a little bit. The Paypal address is [email protected]. When you choose "Send to friends and family" there's no fee for us receiving the funds.

Many thanks!